The Pirate Read Free

Kate shot to her feet and spun around. A man lounged in the alley entrance. He was a very large man, a couple of inches over six feet, lean and hard and broad shouldered. Caught in the harsh glare and deep shadows cast by the intense tropical sun, he looked infinitely more dangerous than the man with the knife. The slashing, wicked grin that revealed his teeth did nothing to soften the impression.
    But far more unsettling than the dangerous quality was the fact that the big stranger looked eerily familiar. Yet Kate was certain she had never seen him before in her life. She would not be likely to forget those cool silver eyes.
    "Who are you? The little twerp's accomplice?" But even as she asked the question she knew this man did not eke out a hand-to-mouth existence taking wallets from innocent tourists. If he chose crime as a career path, he'd go into it in a big way.
    He'd be a jewel thief or a mob leader. Two hundred years ago, he would have been a pirate.
    "The little twerp doesn't have any friends, let alone accomplices."
    "You know him?"
    "Sharp Arnie and I have encountered each other occasionally over the years.
    We're not exactly pals"
    "Oh." Kate frowned. "Did he run off because he saw you?"
    "I believe he ran off because he thought he was going to get stomped into the ground trying to retrieve your wallet."
    "I was certainly going to do my best to stomp him. The nerve of some people.
    Shouldn't we be notifying the authorities or something?"
    "Sharp Arnie will be taken care of in due time. Don't worry about him. It's a small island."
    "I'll be happy to file a complaint or press charges or whatever one does in this sort of situation."
    "Don't bother. We're not real formal around here. Guess I'd better give you a hand picking that junk up or we'll be stuck on Ruby all day."
    The man levered himself away from the pink wall and paced toward her. He moved with an easy, coordinated stride that bespoke strength.
    He was wearing a pair of faded jeans and an equally faded khaki shirt. The collar of the shirt was open, and Kate realized she was staring at the crisp, dark hair that grew there. She caught herself and came back to her senses instantly as she realized the stranger was reaching for her valuables.

    "Hold on just one second before you touch my things. Who are you?"
    "Jared Hawthorne. You're Katherine Inskip, right?"
    She eyed him warily. He didn't look like a fan who might have recognized her from the photo the publisher put on the inside of her book's back cover. "How do you know my name?"
    "I've been looking for you. Billy said you'd gotten tired of waiting around for your ride to Amethyst Island and had decided to do some sight-seeing."
    "Billy being the Billy of Billy's Ruby Island Dive and Tackle Shop? The same Billy who told me that through absolutely no fault of my own I had missed the one flight a day to Amethyst Island? The Billy who was going to arrange for me to spend the night in that fleabag of a hotel on the waterfront until I informed him that if he did not contact the management at the resort on Amethyst Island at once and tell them to send a boat I would be leaving on the next plane for the States?"
    Jared Hawthorne winced. "Sounds like the same Billy, all right. He owns that fleabag of a hotel, by the way. But you're in luck. When his message arrived I decided to come over and pick you up."
    "I should think so," Kate said. "I'm booked into Crystal Cove Resort for a solid month. The least the resort can do is provide convenient transportation."
    "Take it easy. I'm here, aren't I? You've got your transportation. What do you say we get moving? I've got better things to do than hang around here on Ruby."
    "So do I. I certainly hope the Crystal Cove Resort offers a few more amenities than Billy's hotel does."
    "Crystal Cove offers everything you'll need for a relaxing vacation on a tropical island," Jared said. "Within minutes after your arrival you will discover that time has slowed to an ancient,